FAI has received a claim for new “straight distance to a declared goal” World record of 479,4 km made by Jouni Makkonen (Finland)
The current record of 451,00 km made in 2017 belongs to Vagner Campos from Brazil
We wish Jouni good luck with ratification and use this opportunity to present the athlete and give you an insight into his success story:
How long have you been doing the free flight sport
Paragliding has just recently arrived in Finland and I was 20 years old at that time
It was all due to those dreams about flying
And it was the only way of flying I could afford as a student
Funny thing was that I actually stopped dreaming about flying when I started it
More likely all these people I have had the joy to fly with around the world
I suppose I always got inspired by the birds
What are your achievements titles before breaking a record
Recently I have been doing pretty well in big comps like worlds and PWC-cup being in the top ten almost every time
Winning Australian open 4 times in a row has been amazing and I just love the people there
And being in the top ten X-alps 2009 and 2011 was such a thrilling adventure
Why did you decide to break that very record in that very place
I have chosen Caicó - São Miguel do Tapuio in Brazil because it seems to have so much potential there
Have to say his spring has also been so good in Finland to fly numerous national records
Longest one in Finland is now set to 325,5 km
just had this idea of declared goal previous evening when we set the task with the team
It was so nice our Nordic team get towed by Fly Andy just after the Swiss pilots
We had just one winch with us and it would take too long to get into the air
What was the most difficult in breaking this record
The first hours of flight in weak thermals and low cloud base was always nerve-wracking. Along the course experienced the lack of stronger wind
I could not know if I was going to make it at all
Tell us about those who supported you on the way (friends
Could like Ozone wings even more if they give one free ;)
some share of experience that you gained while breaking this record
Keep the focus on the goal and never give up even if it looks impossible..
And remember to take your moments even in a very hectic flight
I personally just love the final glide in the sunset after a long long day
FAI has ratified this Class O (Hang Gliding and Paragliding) World record
FAI congratulates the Pilot on this splendid achievement
FAI - Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
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